History and Foundations of South African Art

Historical Context: The Emergence of Art in South Africa

Conceptual Origins: This chapter explores the genesis of South African art, specifically highlighting the synthesis and friction between early local artists and European artistic influences.
Educational Barriers: At the beginning of the $20^{th}$ century, most South African artists, regardless of race, faced significant struggles in obtaining formal art education within the country.
The European Pipeline: Those with sufficient financial means traveled to Europe to receive art education. While exposed to international movements, these artists typically returned to develop unique, hybridized styles tailored to the South African context.
Socio-Political Shifts (19th Century): * Until the late $19^{th}$ century, black Africans primarily resided in independent chiefdoms organized by ethnicity, with economies centered on land and subsistence. * Impact of Colonialism: The advent of colonization and subsequent industrialization fundamentally altered indigenous lifestyles. * Mineral Discovery: The discovery of minerals acted as a catalyst for urban migration as people were lured into selling their labor in mining centers, which evolved into urban environments. This process disrupted traditional living conditions, cultural practices, and long-standing social structures.
Capitalist Influence: Art creation was largely governed by Western capitalist structures, making early black artists heavily dependent on the patronage of the white middle class.

Early Colonial Art and Institutions

Chronology of Establishment: * $1652$ : Arrival of the first Europeans in South Africa. * $1864$ : Establishment of the first art school in Cape Town. * $1871$ : Formation of the SA Fine Arts Association as a patron for artistic activities.
Pioneer Lifestyles: Early European inhabitants lived predominantly secluded, pioneer-style lives in rural areas. Their primary focus was daily survival, showing little interest in indigenous cultures or the cultivation of a local art tradition.
Early Exhibition Space: Art exhibited in Cape Town generally belonged to wealthy European collectors or was created by visiting travelers and amateur artists.
Africana Art Examples: * Thomas Bowler and Thomas Baines: Major figures who documented colonial life, including depictions of the Malay community in Cape Town, the Khoi, the San, and Bantu-speaking groups. * Style and Subject Matter: They specialized in landscapes, flora, and fauna, utilizing watercolours for accurate recording. * Example Work (Bowler): Prince Alfred Inaugurating the Breakwater ( $1860$ ), a watercolor documenting the historic event of Prince Alfred turning the first sod for the Table Bay breakwater. * Example Work (Angas): George French Angas Nazea, Wife of Karel, A Malay Priest ( $1846$ - $1847$ ). Angas used travel illustrations to contribute to ethnology, often depicting people as "types" rather than distinct individuals.

The Academic Tradition and Early Professional Artists

British Naturalist Dominance: Professional art education was rooted in conservative $19^{th}$-century British naturalism. These artists applied rigid academic rules (landscapes, portraits, narrative works) to the wild South African landscape.
Edward Roworth: A central figure who dictated the direction of South African art through multiple powerful positions: * Chairman of the SA Society of Artists. * Professor of Arts at Michaelis. * Director of the National Gallery. * His influence reinforcement the preference for naturalist traditions and the rejection of "decadent" modern European art until the mid-$20^{th}$ century.
Emergent Professionals of the Early 20th Century: * J.E.A. Volschenk: Renowned for Mountains, Riversdale ( $1915$ ); admired for accessible, unthreatening representations of unspoilt nature in the South Western Cape. * Frans Oerder: Significant professional artist exploring South African identity through European techniques. * Anton van Wouw: A sculptor of Dutch descent known for realistic bronzes like Bad News ( $1910$ ), depicting the defeat of Boer fighters and supporting the Boer Republics' struggle against British rule. * Pieter Wenning: An untrained Dutch emigrant who produced works like Bishop’s Court. His style featured bold impasto brush strokes and simplified masses of color, often depicting architecture and farm homesteads.

Recognition of Indigenous Art and Crafts

Transition from Ethnography to Art: Specifically functional and ritual objects produced by black rural craftsmen were initially viewed only as ethnographic interests. Later, they were acknowledged as "crafts"—still deemed inferior to painting or sculpture—before being recognized as vital influences on modernism.
Historical and Cultural Significance: * Mapungubwe Gold Rhinoceros: Found in a royal grave burial site in $1933$ ; dates back $700$ years. * AmaZulu Materials: Decorative racks for mats, clay pots with geometric patterns for traditional beer, and carved wooden headrests. * AmaZulu Headrest Symbolism: Used primarily by the head of the family as neck support; forbidden for use by women or children. Patterns denote clan descent. Brides would bring a headrest as part of a dowry to link with ancestors. * Ndebele Influence: Beadwork designs directly influenced the patterns used in decorative murals.

Modernist Movements and Landscape Interpretation

International Influence: South African artists who visited Europe were affected by Impressionism, Neo-impressionism, Post-impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and German Expressionism.
Hugo Naudé ( $1868$ - $1941$ ): * Trained at the Slade School in London. * Adopted en plein air painting, using loose, spontaneous brushwork and impasto application. * Note: While his style resembled Impressionism, he did not focus on optical sensations; rather, he aimed to convey the character of the environment through color contrasts and pictorial devices like raised horizons (e.g., Western Province landscape with yellow flowers).
J.H. Pierneef ( $1886$ - $1957$ ): * Exposed to Dutch masters and the theories of Willem van Konijnenburg regarding mathematical harmony. * Developed a "pictorial architecture" based on simplified geometric shapes. * Style: Very smooth surfaces without visible brush strokes, utilizing outlines to define forms. He captured the harsh sunlight of the Transvaal to create flat, silhouetted planes and a sense of monumental order and permanence.

Expressionism and Independent Identities

Maggie Laubser ( $1886$ - $1973$ ) and Irma Stern: Credited for introducing Expressionism to South Africa.
Laubser’s Rebellion: She rejected the conservative "recipes" of the Slade Art School in favor of a personal, intense palette influenced by the Berlin art scene.
Laubser’s Technique: Simplified $3$-D forms with strong outlines where color interaction creates depth (e.g., Harvesters in Belgium ( $1922$ )).
Pioneer Black Artists: * Moses Tladi ( $1903$ - $1959$ ): The first recorded black artist to participate in a professional exhibition (the "Special Exhibition by Native Artist" in $1930$ ). His themes focused on landscapes and Crown Mines. * John Koenakeefe Mohl ( $1903$ - $1985$ ): Studied in Germany; documented urban Sophiatown and rural areas. He acted as a mentor, advocating for black people to purchase art. * Gerard Bhengu ( $1910$ - $1990$ ): Known for realistic sepia watercolours (chosen because he could not afford other colors) documenting isiBhaca and isiZulu life. He famously illustrated ethnographic research for Dr. Max Kohler to pay for tuberculosis treatment.

Specialized Artists and the Polly Street Era

Gladys Mgudlandlu ( $1925$ - $1979$ ): * Self-taught teacher/nurse and one of the first black women to exhibit in a gallery. * Style described as Primitivist/Expressionist, influenced by isiXhosa folk tales and childhood memories of the Eastern Cape. * Critique: While critics like Marion Arnold described her urban houses as "ugly and oppressive," her work (Landscape, $1961$ ) represents the displacement experience.
Michael Zondi ( $1926$ - $2008$ ): * Qualified cabinet-maker and woodwork instructor. * Figurative wooden sculptures inspired by isiZulu heritage and Christian beliefs. * Political Subtext: By depicting Moses (Leader of his People) ( $1959$ ) as a black man, he infused biblical stories with political meaning regarding the plight of black South Africans.
Township Art and the Polly Street Art Centre ( $1949$ - $1975$ ): * Cecil Skotnes: Appointed recreational officer in $1952$ ; transformed the center into a Creative haven. * The Conflict of Content: Skotnes aimed for a "typically African art form," while students desired Western representational skills. * Key Alumni: Sydney Kumalo, Ezrom Legae (modernist influences), Ephraim Ngatane, Durant Sihlali (representational documentation of township life).
Other Notable Artists: * Bertha Everard: Used Divisionist color and rhythmic brush marks. * Florence Zerfi: En plein air work influenced by Impressionism. * Dorothy Kay: Combined realism with subtle symbols. * Maud Sumner: Influenced by French artists like Manet and Degas; painted unidealized, sensuous figures. * Strat Caldecott: Used strongly defined shapes with dark outlines within an Impressionist framework.

Questions & Discussion

Workbook Exercise: Thomas Baines Study: * Students are tasked with analyzing six works by Thomas Baines, including Sir Henry Pottinger landing the steamer Haddington ( $1847$ ), Klaas Smits River-wagon broke down crossing the drift, and The 14th Highlanders storming the stronghold of the rebel chief Sandili ( $1854$ ). * Analysis Criteria: Identify the event, setting, the artist's relative position (participant vs. spectator), composition, color, and tonal values. * Interpretive Inquiry: Does the scene accurately reflect truth? What was the artist's intention? Was there a specific target audience? What does it reveal about South Africa during that historical epoch?
The Turning Point: The $1989$ exhibition The Neglected Tradition: towards a new history of South African art (1930-1988), curated by Steven Sack at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, is cited as the critical moment when black artists finally received formal documentation and widespread acknowledgment.